Earlier this month, Bear Stearns' leader James Cayne, under
fire for collapse of two hedge funds, stepped down as chief
executive, handing the role to the company's star investment
banker Alan Schwartz.

However, BofA said it expects little to change in the near
term. It maintained its "neutral" rating on Bear Stearns.
(Reporting by Nachiket Kelkar in Bangalore; Editing by Himani
Sarkar)